Horse-Fame. It's no longer worth it.

I have been thinking a lot lately about this whole concept of "horse-fame" in the brony fandom, and I have come to the conclusion that it is really not worth it anymore.  Why am I talking about it and how does it relate to me?  Well because to be quite frank, I think it's what I've been trying too hard to be ever since I joined the brony fandom.

While I never have been a self-centered jerk necessarily, I do think I have tried too hard on many occasions to get in on this whole "horse-famous" business.  In the past I've been working on certain projects thinking that "oh, this is going to get so much attention and get everyone to like me and get featured on Equestria Daily blah blah blah" only to find that either doesn't happen or when it does, it's not on such a grand scale.

Back in 2011 when I made this comic, it got loads of attention after being featured on EqD and I guess that got it into my head that I can really get people to notice my art if I do more.  Of course, the fandom was seeing a major spike in joinage and bronies were a lot more active back then.  A lot of the artists you see who are doing a mix of all sorts of fanart were just doing MLP stuff and the fandom was really going places.  It got better as time went on even with some fallouts like in 2013 with alicorn Twilight and Equestria Girls, but lately activity seems to have been getting a lot less common and some of these huge names in the brony fandom are either moving on to greater things or doing less of pony and we refuse to give newcomers a chance.  Perhaps I can be considered one of these "newcomers" when it comes to attention, (despite the fact that I've been doing this longer than some famous people have) because back then I don't think the name "Aleximus Prime" really rang many bells.  Nowadays it seems to but since the fandom's activity is dropping, my timing couldn't have been any worse.

In the past year, it has come to my realization that I am not really "horse-famous" and I have been trying too hard to be these past 5 years.  I've always had this too-good-to-be-true feeling about how I'm going to be so recognized and I'll be invited to Bronies React and become a VIP at conventions.  Heh.  Well don't we all wish that would happen.

The truth is horse-fame is basically unattainable and even if you do somehow become horse-famous, look at how many people have already abused it.  Without mentioning names, there have been a select number of bronies who have used their fame for their own selfish reasons and thus the fandom started making drama be a subset of bronydom which I am really disappointed to see happen.  Nowadays, no one is looking for who is the most talented and likable person in the fandom, they're looking for whoever has done something wrong so they can post it all over Horse News and make the next big name in the fandom be a laughing stock.  I suppose such people have the same feelings I do about wanting to be popular but rather than being honest with themselves like I'm doing now, they've just decided to get revenge on these people since they "stole their spotlight".  And this isn't just a problem with the brony fandom, this happens virtually everywhere.

The effect that social media has had on people has gotten them wanting the unattainable goal of celebrity.  Our media has taught kids they can be "anything they want" and that they should "follow your dreams" and "don't ever let anyone tell you you can't do it".  Positive messages to be sure, but now we've clearly overshot it.  There is only so much money in the world and people have high standards when it comes to choosing who will be the next big singer/performer/actor/musician/artist/whatever that it's practically impossible to even become one of these things.  Trying too hard will get you thinking it will happen only to find it NEVER will happen.  I've been down this road one too many times and now I have finally decided that it's not worth it.  Becoming a celebrity and achieving fame and fortune and all the world has to offer will not make you any happier.  In many cases, it has only created unhappy, mean, toxic, hateful, and depressed individuals and now things have gotten worse.

Recent events surrounding the 2016 election have only helped to prove this.  You may have read my post-election rant where I basically said how people are losing their crap and how I've had to unfollow people I once admired for spreading all sorts of hate and fear-mongering.  Yeah, that didn't even encompass just how badly I feel about the world of celebrities right now.  Left and right, they are dropping like flies.  Again, I don't care what your politics are, but this whole hateful attitude has got to stop.  Some of these famous people are actually making borderline calls for a civil war for crying out loud.  This is just one example of how the "cool kids" are not that cool at all.

I don't want to be a part of this.  I doubt if I were horse-famous I'd have to deal with too many of these people but it's kept me from obsessing over wanting to be famous the way I used to.  I no longer idolize successful people unless I know for sure they can be trusted.  I mean, no offense but a lot of the VAs from MLPFIM mean nothing to me anymore.  I don't want to even try to associate the character with whoever is voicing them because they're not even the same to begin with.  A good character, to me, does not have anything to do with their actor or voice-actor.  That loving, adorable pony could very well loads better than the person behind the mic who has brought life into them.  Hell, the entire fictional world of Equestria doesn't even reflect the true nature of it's creator.  Look at what the Rogue One writers might have already gotten themselves into. 

Now I'm not saying that it's bad to be famous, alright.  There are still many good famous people in the world, especially in this fandom.  I'm also not saying that I am going to give up entirely on my dreams.  I do still want to be recognized somehow but I'm going to start trying less to just become well-known and instead just be me.  I have plans but I don't want to ruin them with over-the-top expectations the way I used to.  I'm going to continue with my passion because it makes me happy not because I want others to love me for it and I highly recommend you all do the same.  No more with this horse-famous nonsense.  Screw that.  Don't try to be famous, just keep being you.  And heck, if you don't find your niche in this fandom and you don't really achieve your goals, just move on.  With how toxic the celebrity community has gotten, you're not really missing out on much.  It's better to have low status but still be happy than it is to be on top of the world and be unhappy.  Common people, in my honest opinion, are much greater achievers than famous people.  Humble, outgoing, and happy.  I wouldn't trade those things for the world.

That's my feelings about horse-fame and how the concept of it has affected me.  I've wanted to talk about this for a while but it never seemed necessary until after the election due to the backlash which only encouraged me further.  I hope you guys can understand where I'm coming from and I hope you can take a lot out of this as good advice on how to handle the whole thing when facing popularity.  Don't give up on your dreams, but be careful with whatever it is you're heading towards.  Don't surround yourself with toxic individuals and be careful who you choose as your friends.  Fame and fortune is not everything.  If we don't start rejecting the notion that we're "not worth it" unless we're horse-famous, this fandom could see it's inevitable death.